Alumni Hall will see its final two games of regular season action this weekend when the Mustangs welcome Trent and Toronto to London. The pair of matches are two of the final four games left in the purple and white schedule before playoffs begin.

Saturday's match against Toronto will also serve as the team's Senior Day. Prior to the game, veterans Mike Choja, Chris Newcombe, and Bryn Ramsay will be honoured for the contributions to the Mustangs.

Western currently holds an 8-5 record after splitting last weekend with a win over Waterloo and a loss to Guelph, and head into this week in third in the OUA West Division.

Bryn Ramsay has led the Mustangs offensively, and will head into the weekend averaging 3.3 points per set. Gavin Taylor and Chris Newcombe follow with 2.8 and 2.7 points each. However, the last few games have seen third-year Zeid Hamadeh dominate at the net. The Ottawa native has topped the purple and white scoresheet in the last three contests, helping the Mustangs go 2-1 over that span.

In preparing for their weekend matchups, the Mustangs are likely to focus on serving. Trent's serve receive is arguably one of the weakest in the nation, while Toronto's roster offers some of the leagues best servers.

Friday's game against the Excalibur will be all about keeping serves within the boundaries of the court and capitalizing on any errors by Trent, while the Varsity Blues won't be giving up many points from the baseline themselves. With the exception of the pair of games against Brock, the Mustangs have yet to win a game in 2017 while making more service errors than their opponent.

Friday, February 17 – Western vs Trent – 8 p.m. – Watch LIVE on OUA.tv

Trent joined U SPORTS men's volleyball for the 2016-17 season, previously competing in the CCAA. The previous season saw the team finish the regular season with a 15-5 record to sit fourth in the OCAA East Division, but the Excalibur have gone winless since moving out of the college league, winning only five sets across their first 14 games.

The Excalibur are the lowest scoring team in the league in both points per set (10.6) and total points (496), while their 76 serve reception errors are the most in the OUA.

Jacob Bothen and Reggie McLean lead the team on offence, with both averaging 2.5 points per set.

Friday's matchup is scheduled to being at 8 p.m., with live streaming of all the action available on OUA.tv.

Saturday, February 18 – Western vs Toronto – 8 p.m. – Watch LIVE on OUA.tv

Of the two matches scheduled this weekend for the Mustangs, Saturday's contest against the Varsity Blues can be considered the bigger challenge. Toronto's record sits at 6-8 to put them fifth in the West division behind York, Ryerson, Nipissing, and Queen's.

Right side Will Colucci can be expected to anchor Toronto's offence as one of the most frequently used hitters in the league. In addition to 502 total attacks (2nd OUA), the Environmental Science and Ethics student averages 3.88 kills per set and 4.5 points. Both numbers put him fourth overall in the OUA ranking.

However, the defensive strengths of the Varsity Blues may offer their best chance to topple the Mustangs. With a league-low 28 reception errors matched by only RMC, Toronto's serve receive is virtually impenetrable.

The team also averages 11.29 digs per set compared to the 8.29 of the Mustangs. Left side Alex Ferris leads the team with 2.21 digs per set (2nd OUA) for a total of 117.

Further complicating the purple and white game plan could be the presence of Zia Karim on the court. Karim's 6-6 frame has allowed him to become one of the most dominant middles in the OUA, currently ranked as the second leading athlete in solo blocks (22).

Saturday's matchup will also serve as the Mustangs Senior Day, with Choja, Newcombe, and Ramsay all being honoured for their contributions prior to the game. Game time is set for 8 p.m., with fans able to catch all the action live on OUA.tv.